Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river.
- KJV And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
- BSB After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river.
- NKJV Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.
- NASB Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and thin, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Seven ugly, thin cattle then come up and stand beside the fat ones.
Overview
The gaunt cattle represent years of severe famine that will follow the plenty. Their standing beside the healthy cattle foreshadows how famine will overtake abundance. The vision presses upon Pharaoh that hard times are coming after good ones.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Gen 41:4The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke.
- Gen 41:20–21The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 41:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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